2016 NJ State PBA Mini Convention
How’d they do it?
Bergen County Conference PAC showed the impact of ‘Boots on the Ground’
n BY JOSHUA SIGMUND
These are the ones who did it.
President Colligan’s rousing introduction of the members of the Bergen
County Conference Political Action Committee (BCPAC) who rallied more than
100 members in November to hit the streets in support of PBA-favored candidates triggered one thought: How did they do it?
In fact, Election Day 2015 was so successful in favor of the NJSPBA that
members had to do a double take when the results rolled in.
“The candidates we endorsed won by 1,000 votes,” recalled PAC Chairman
and Saddle River Boro Local 348 State Delegate Charlie Schwartz. “Much more
than the 55 last year,” he added, noting the previous general assembly election
in District 38, where out of 230,000 residents, the PBA-favored candidate won
by a hair.
To get from that small margin to the massive win this past cycle, the BCPAC,
with its 70 towns and 53 Locals, appointed area managers and strove to put
100 boots on the ground in the four largest battleground areas.
“We put together a game plan, and with the help of (Port Authority Local 116
President) Paul Nunziato, it went pretty easy.”
Volunteers assembled dossiers of the candidates the PBA backed, and along
with a list of the registered Democrats in the county, hit the streets to knock on
doors. “Not to start political arguments,” Schwartz dispelled, “but to get out the
vote. There was a lot of positive feedback when we knocked on those doors.”
All the hubbub even drew some of those legislators to Biagio’s Ristorante
in Paramus, where about 130 pairs of PBA boots gathered before hitting the
ground. “We had legislators coming out and the message was out that the
BCPAC was real,” Schwartz concluded. “We made a statement that day.”
The origin of the BCPAC’s Boots on the Ground campaign can be traced back
to the bargaining/dinner table.
“We started a special events fund to finance a dinner because most people
know that’s how negotiations are done,” explained Bergen County Conference
Chairman and Wood-Ridge Local 313 State Delegate Joseph Biamonte, Jr. “We
started putting things on paper and came up with the ‘Boots on the Ground’
idea.”
Biamonte exalted the State PBA’s PAC, and emphasized that the job of County Conferences is to complement that effort by encouraging its members to
spread the message and educate the public about the many things that affect
the citizens and public safety.
Pascack Valley Local 206 State Delegate Richard Ligouri spoke about how the
BCPAC changed the way his Oradell PD did business:
“We had a mayor and two council members up for vote, and, at the time, the
police department wasn’t doing very well,” he recollected. “We partnered with
the County PAC and went ‘boots on the ground’ to endorse a new mayor who
was a friend of ours. In November, they crushed it and we now have a mayor
and two council members who are friendly to us. It only took three meetings
with no attorneys to get a contract signed with raises. If you get the right people
in those positions, you’ll see great results.”
Schwartz returned to the podium to make a very apropos observation about
Ligouri’s story:
“You need a seat at the table so they can hear you voice,” he stated. “If
you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”
Looking back from the seats of victors, Nunziato made a final appeal to the
membership:
“You can sit back and watch Pat and (Executive Vice-President) Marc (Kovar)
do all the work, but we’re getting wins now,” he rallied. “You’re the only one
who’s going to lose by doing nothing. You need to motivate your members.
Make friends before you need them. Stick together and change the game on
40
NEW JERSEY COPS
■ APRIL 2016
From top, BCPAC Chairman and Saddle River Boro Local 348 State Delegate
Charlie Schwartz, Port Authority Local 116 President Paul Nunziato and Pascack Valley Local 206 State Delegate Richard Ligouri were among the PAC
leaders who made Boots on the Ground a success.
the politicians.”
So that’s how they did it.
Now how can you do it?